52: Will the AI slopwave ruin music for good?

We all know what happened to the sorcerer’s apprentice,
right?


Mickey Mouse got hold of a spell book before he was smart enough
to use it, conjured a broom that just wouldn’t quit, and nearly
got sucked into a whirlpool. Yet, tragically, no one can remember
what the moral of this story was supposed to be!


This week we batten down the hatches in preparation for the
#slopwave – at least, that was the plan a couple of months ago
when we first started worrying about the volume of mass-produced
AI gibberish coming down the pipes. Now it kinda feels too late?
Like microplastics in the brain, we’re already compromised.


Still, we start by tackling the current wave of AI slop
infiltrating country music, the lo-fi beat scene, City Pop and
faux-vintage soul before turning to deeper
conundrums about AI-generated art. Could an AI music app
like Suno ever produce a hit? Is Suno really so much worse than
using a loop library like Splice? And will AI ever create
anything as meaningful as Mr Blobby? These questions and more on
a slopulent edition of No Tags.


We’re not pretending to be experts here – just listen to that new
No Tags theme song for proof! – so we’d love to hear from people
who either work in AI or operate in a field that’s started to
feel the slop. If that’s you, drop us an email or a comment.


Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe